What a Wonderful World
by JerseyGirl
Summary: A short story series of a range of people who populate the dangerous cities in GTA:Inside of the mind of an officer name Michelle Harris we see what's troubling her and her views on things.


What a Wonderful World  
  
  
" I can't believe this shit!" One man mumbled behind me. He was a large white man, middle aged, and he was stressed out. How I can see it, it wasn't hard; I can see the stress on his face. He put the cigarette in his mouth and sucked on it furiously until the glowing ash hit the bud. He furiously tossed it aside and sputtered, " I'm bustin' my balls tryin' to support my kids and I have ta hear this fuckin' shit every fuckin' day!"  
We were watchin' the evening news on the TV outside Paul n' Son's Electronic store. I can't believe Mr. Paul still have his TV's on the shelves. Those were the days, when you don't have to fear walking in the streets and don't have to worry if some mugger is gonna come up to ya and take all ya money. Geez now I sound like some old woman talkin' 'bout the good old days. Nowadays, if you have a fucking bubble gum machine it has to be bolt down to the damn floor. To tell you the truth, by two day's it will be gone, I'm not kidding.   
What we were watching on TV was very depressing, I was around when all that shit happened. Around twelve in the afternoon something snapped in this asshole's head and he hijacked a sports car. Ran down fifty people, forty died instantly, five paralyzed, and five made it with just scratches. Three of them were cops, none from my precinct.   
What's so sad is half of the people were just kids... they were teenagers.... They didn't even get to live...and you want to know what happen to the fucking asshole who did all this shit in the first place? After hours of car chasing, we finally caught him. We drove him down to the precinct, we put him into custody, and you know what happened!   
  
He got the fuck away...   
  
I think he bribed one of the senior officers and he got out scoot free. I checked evidence and I haven't seen any of his weapons that we confiscated. You wouldn't believe the crap he had in the car! He got a machine gun filled with rounds, twenty Molotov cocktails, a fucking pistol, a flamethrower and one of those new electric guns. I got hit by those fuckers and I was lucky to barely make it alive. I was in the hospital for three months for third degree burns on my back and legs. Lucky for cosmetic surgery the doctor got rid of the scaring, well some of it.   
The lady watched some of the TV and spoke again-Why did her breath smelled like hot dogs- Oh anyway she said, " Hell yeah I know what ya talkin' about," That was the slim dark woman next to me. To my knowledge, I could tell she used drugs because she had scars on her wrist, but she looks like she's clean now. I hope she keeps it up, make my job easier...Anyway the dark skinned woman spoke again, " These people, specially these computer kids, their goin 'crazy, killin' people everyday, just for that money. Runnin' over young 'un like those kids." The Dark skinned lady look at the white guy and asked nicely, " Do you have children mister?"  
I don't know why the lady asked that question when the white guy said before, ' I have to raise, blah, blah, blah, children. Anyway, he nodded and smiled, " Yeah..." The stressed out man pulled out a pack of cigarettes, Bensen Hedges Menthol, hey my mom smokes those. Anyway, he pulled one cigarette out and put it on his thin lips, went into his khaki colored sports jacket and pulled out a match. He strikes it against the black stripe and the stick magically made a small flame, " I have a son name Nathan, he's my oldest, about thirteen," He covered the flame while he started lighting up the cigarette, and when he was done he threw the match aside, " His school is not too far from that shit."  
Now me and the supposedly ex addict look at the white guy with shock. I can see the saddens in his eyes, the anger and the uncertainty. I tried to remember the list...Nathan...Nathan.... I try picturing the list of people's names that were on the injured and alive list. Shit! I thought, I still don't remember any Nathan, oh god please don't let him be on the other list I thought. The dark woman asked sincerely, " Is your son alright? Is he-"  
Then white guy cut her off and answered, " No, thank god he was in the school when it happened." I gave off a sigh of relief, I though he was going to ask me about his son's condition. I never like giving the bad news... ever. Even since I was a little girl I always hated to bring up the bad news, but when my brother was caught in that gang war down the square near the apartments, where all the kids play...I seen everything and I had to tell her... forget it ...you don't want to hear that.   
The man sucked on the cigarette and when he blow out the smoke from his nose he said with sadness, " I pray to god that any of his friends isn't dead...some of his friend's families work overnight and they probably have no idea what happened."  
" Oh my." That's what the lady said. She looked and sounded like she really cared, " I hope god punish that man who did this..."   
Now I actually cringe a little when she said that. Ya see I'm kinda atheist. Naw, I'm not those type of people who parade around the city trying to prove other people that there isn't a god, I wish someone could prove me wrong, really I do. I actually do believe in guardian angles, Jesus, and all that other crap, even God... But I'm starting to believe that God don't care for us 'cause We got these fuckin' sickos names from A to Z runnin' around this damn world and he doesn't even give a miracle to people. Even the ones like the stressed out white guy who works to the bone to support his kids or the woman who's trying to not use those drugs anymore. It's like this guy's putting us on one of those crazy tests like in one of those Star Wars movies. I kinda believe in guardian angles though, I mean, everybody has one no matter how good or bad there are. I had a guardian angle around when I had that fucking electric gun was killing me and I bet that psycho who got away had a guardian angle around when he walked out free, but I don't think my brother's guardian angle wasn't on duty when he died.  
I could see the bus rolling down the street, great, I thought to myself; it is almost time for my job. The dark skinned woman look at me nicely and asked, " Excuse me, but do you know what's going to happen to the man who killed all those people?"  
The white guy threw his cigarette away and laughed with anger, " I want ta know what the hell ya did with that sick bitch. Ya gave him the fuckin' chair already?"   
I blanked a couple of times and I started laughing nervously. I didn't want to tell them what really happened in the precinct. So I thought for a quick few seconds and I answered, " Yeah, he's in custody."  
The man and woman smiled and the bus pulled up, " That's great." That's what the white guy said, " You guys must be doin' ya job right. Keep it up like this and I don't have to worry about my kids walking out of my apartment." The white guy climbed up the bus and the dark skinned woman shook my hand and smiled, " It was nice meeting you Miss..."  
I gave her my last name, " Harris"   
" Oh, Anyway, its police officers like you that make the streets a safer place." And then she walked into the bus.  
  
What those guys told me made me felt a little better...about my job anyway. But now it was my time to do my job. You see a while back where the Russian mafia use to run things one of our undercover cops gave the word that one of the Russian's mercenaries hijacked a public bus and started picking up people. After the guy picks up the right amount of people he goes to this warehouse that's in Russian's territory and...ugh...it's disgusting. They force the people out of the bus and if anybody tries to escape, they will get executed, and if you do what the guards says then you go into the warehouse, and they'll kill you, cut you up in this grinder, and turn you into...eww...hot dogs... Now I don't know about you but that's fucking disgusting, I'm not going to eat a hot dog for lunch for a good while. This is why I'm in night shift, these guys usually pick people up around these hours and I have to check the bus driver to see if he's legit.   
Anyway, I climbed up in the bus along with the dark skinned lady and the stressed out white guy, both guys sat in the middle of the bus. The bus was crowded; it was filled with working class people, some senior citizens and a few teenagers. It was very wired; all of them were quiet when they saw me. Some people carried out their conversation with a whisper and some just stared at me.   
I glanced at the mirror that was bolted on the front of the bus; I look pretty ok, I thought,. My eyes are dark brown as usual and the white part of my eye isn't red anymore, I woke up this morning with a red eye and I thought I'll have it the whole night, I guess the medication worked. I took notice that I don't have that belly I had anymore, maybe it's because I changed my hours to the night shift, I have no time to eat dinner which consist of a egg sandwich and the usual can of beer. My hair, on the other hand use to be longer but ever since my hair was falling out its about shoulder length but today I put it in a bun...a messy one anyway.  
I looked at the bus driver and I scanned his image. He looked normal enough. Had the uniform, kinda slim, kinda around my age...uhh...probably around his late twenties I guess. White guy, had the bus driver cap on and under it was short brown hair and keep it trimmed too. He was good lookin' but I wouldn't say he was good looking enough for a date. I don't know if he was but I think he was checking me out.  
" Hey baby," The bus driver said to me. For a bus driver he was pretty smooth soundin'. I gave him a smile and said, " Hello mister."  
" So what brings you here officer...uhh?"  
" Michelle." I answered. I was writing down the bus number on my clipboard, standard procedures ya know.  
The bus driver smiled and said, " So what are you doing?"  
When he said that something triggered in my head every time it hit six o'clock, since that hot dog incident, their boss told them about the police checks and the list of all the busses stolen and not stolen. I thought, could one of the busses were hijacked when they were off the assembly line, could one cop screwed up royally and one bus was unchecked, or could it be that this bus was one of the hijacked busses.  
I look at the bus driver and I ordered, " I want to see your license right now."  
The bus driver mood changed to defensive, he said, " You don't have the right."  
" Oh I have a right," I said, " If you give me your bus license we can forget about this and you can move on. Now give me the license or I'll take you to the percent for questioning."  
" Shit, hold on." The bus driver mumbled. While the bus driver was looking for his license, I took a glance at the people on the bus. The people were shit scared; the dark skinned lady's skin was getting pale. The stressed out white guy was sweating heavily and his hair was getting stringy. The teenagers took off their headphones and stared at me, they were even scared. As I was staring at the people, I grabbed on my radio and called for back up. Incase thing's go out of hand at least I can get help getting this guy, and if he drives off they can chase him down. Busses like these don't accelerate that fast, but when they get a clear road and they don't have to turn, it goes really fast. A bus like this possibly goes to one hundred and thirty or fifty miles per hour when it hits top speed, I guess. What even sucks is when the bus starts to roll the doors automatically lock, so theirs no way out unless if you smashed the window and you jump out...when the bus is going ninety.  
I stared at the bus driver and he was sweating furiously. It's been four minutes, I thought, how long does it take to find a license. I look at the bus driver and I said, " C'mon man, it doesn't even take me this long to fix my hair now bring it out."  
The bus driver stared at me and I stared at the bus driver. I'm not sure what happened but I felt my self pushed out of the way and I heard screaming of women on the bus. I look at where the bus driver sat and he wasn't there. I screamed out of anger and I ran out the bus looking for the man. Out of the commotion of the people on the bus and on the street, I heard a few of the teenagers yelling to me, " Hey lady! He went into that alleyway in front of ya!" One of the teenagers pointed out where he ran off to and I jetted off in that direction. I would of thanked them right then and there but I had no time.  
As I was running through the alleyway, my adrenalin was kicking in. In the academy they taught you how to use your adrenalin and not let it control you, and it and for a good reason. If I'm runnin' around like a jackass after this guy my train of thought is gone and I'll do the first thing that comes up to my mind, which is, shoot the guy. Your probably saying what's so bad about that, well, what if the guy's innocent, or he's just crazy and he's on medication, what if he's frightened. On the other hand having an adrenalin rush make things a little slower and the pain isn't as bad if you have a rush your body even do things that you cant imagin' your self doing. To put this in an easier way it's like a automatic power up for your body when shit happens.  
. As the bus driver climbed over a fence and I did the same. When he knocked down those garbage cans, I jumped over them. Every obstacle that the bus driver created and went over I dodged it and went over too. I can see myself coming closer to them man. Then out of nowhere I saw the images in my head of the psycho walking out of the doors. The way that he smiled at me while he toss his leather coat behind his back and that black briefcase, filled with his weapons. The way that he walked and the way his eyes were, so cold, but what got me was that smile. It was like he knew all along that he was going to be freed without paying no bail or anything. But his grin gave me a personal message, he signaled me,  
' I'm going to see you again next time.'  
  
I've seen that happen so many times I'm sick of it. I've been a cop for the past eight years and for just once I want to see a bad guy go into jail. Not to leave, no crooked cops, no bail, just stay there.  
I was homing right on the bus driver, I gave my self one last sprint and I leap onto his back, knocking him down onto the damp concrete floor, we wrestled for a few minutes until I finally pined him down on the floor, I pulled out my handcuffs and I thought I had him but something went wrong. I don't know how he did it but he gotten free from my grasped. He crawled over and stood up quickly. I thought he was going to run again but he just stand there and shook his head laughing at me.  
" How sad." He said.  
I stood up and I was breathing hard. Hey I may be a cop but I'm not superwoman, after running for half an hour you'll start to breath hard too. I screamed, " Shut the hell up and come over here!"  
" Why? The bus driver asked, " Once I set foot in that police station baby they are going to let me go. You know that for a fact."  
I continued to breath hard, I screamed, " That's a damn lie!" but I knew for a fact that he was right but I was denying it. Once I capture this guy someway, somehow this guys going to be free. The bus driver was still laughing at me, he driver took out a cigarette and light it up. " It's sad, you probably chase me down this whole city just to break your neck in catching me. Just to throw me in jail, but since I like you I'll tell you the truth."   
I don't know why I was listening to that bus driver. I have no reason, but my curiosity had the best of me, I just wanted to hear what he's was going to say.   
The end of his cigarette was glowing bright and eating the part of the cigarette away. He said,  
" Baby I'm just going to tell you this straight up. I've been in this line of work for ten years and I've been arrested so many times, yet, I've never seen the insides of a maximum security prison. Now, no matter how many times you put people like me in jail we'll always come out. Why? Cause we have power." The bus driver sighed and kicked a can onto the side and smiled at me, " twenty-five thousand dollars, forty thousand dollars, you would not believe how much money I make every job, and that's chump change. After you drag my ass to the station, I can just bribe a cop twenty mill. He could put his kid into college and I'm walking out the station, I'm telling you it's a win win situation."  
Tears started to run down my cheeks I started to wipe them with my sleeve and I spat out, " Shut up! That's not true. " I whipe my tears again and I said,   
"There's many cops out there like me bustin' their ass every night and day trying' to take people like you off the streets!" I pointed my finger at him and continued, " It's people like you who think they can get away from anything! All your gangs ever did for this city was bringing it down to the slums that it is. It's because of your gangs they have turfs and if they didn't have their pointless gang battles others including my brother would have been alive! It's because of your turfs and your gangs you own most of the stores and company causing people to lose jobs and their homes. And your goddamn fucking money, all you people ever care about is money, all you think you have to do is wave a couple mill in front of a officer and he'll let you go! But someday you're going to mess with the wrong cop...and you know what? I hope they stuff your fucking dirty money up your ass."  
" Baby, I don't want to burst your bubble but your kind is a dying breed."  
" No! We are not!"  
" Yes they are." The bus driver threw his cigarette aside and said, " Your saying this shit about how there are good cops, well let me tell you. What's going to happen to your kind a year for now, or five years, or ten, twenty? What's going to be your views from now; after you see over the years? The senior cops and the detectives were dedicated, once like you to uphold the law. But they saw the light, nothings going to change, not now not ever." The bus driver went into his pocket and took out his wallet. He threw open the flap and said, " Ok now what's it going to take you. Ten? Twenty? Fifty thousand?"  
I wanted him to stop but tears were rolling out of my eyes I didn't say anything.  
The bus driver pulled out a thick was of money that was rolled up and secured with a rubber band, " It's two mill. The most I can give you take it or leave it." He toss the large was of money to me and I caught it. I thought, probably he was right maybe nothing is going to change, no matter how many guys I caught nothings going to change, but I still have to protect the people who don't have the power, like those people on the bus. They need me.  
" No." I said to my self.  
The bus driver look at me with shock he narrowed his eyes and hissed, " What?"  
" I said no" I tossed the wad of money back to the bus driver and it landed onto his feet, " You can keep your filthy money."  
The Bus Driver look at me and started to make this laugh, like he felt sorry for me, he said, " You must be the dumbest broad I have ever seen in my life!"  
" You must be the dumbest guy I have ever seen in me lifetime." I said, " Now your coming with me."   
" No I'm not"  
" Yes you are." I open my handcuffs and I started to walk towards him, " Your coming with me."   
I was waking towards the Bus Driver and I was about to get him until he pulled out his handgun and said, " 'Cause by the time you wake up I'll be gone." I gasped out of fear and then I heard a shot. I felt myself blown back and I hit the ground hard, then everything started to go black.  
  
  
As I was laying down on something soft, I heard someone's voice calling out to me. I had to use all my power to open my eyes but I felt so weak. Finally I open my eyes and I saw this guy with fair skin short black hair, and he was taller then me, he seems so familiar, and he's a very handsome guy I thought. Then his name popped into my head, I tried to yell out his name but all I could do was just whisper,  
" Gabriel? Is that you?"  
" Michelle!" That's what Gabriel yelled. I moaned and I covered my ears and I thought, god why did he had to yell so damn loud. Why everything is louder then it is? Gabriel went over and hugged me giving me little baby kissed softly on my cheek, " God damn it Michelle I was so worried I thought I'll never get to see your face again." He said. He started to cry a little bit but he wiped them with a tissue he had.  
" Damn it cant you please whisper," I begged, " everything sounds like a fucking jet taking off near me." Gabriel started stroking my hair and he spoke... softly this time, " I'm sorry, I was just so happy to see you wake up, it felt like it was years until you open your eyes."  
I lay there halfway awake, how the hell did I end up in the hospital, and how long was I asleep? I stared at Gabriel's dark brown eyes and everything started to flow back, I asked, " What happened?"  
He look at me like I was crazy, he asked, " What do you mean what happened?"   
I sat myself up, which was very stupid of me because I ended up in a lot of pain. Gabriel started to lower me back on my backside gently, " Michelle the doctor says don't sit up your body's recovering itself." He said.  
That was Gabriel for ya, he always gets worried about me a little too much, but he so much better when has like that. I didn't want to make him worry no more, so I just said, " Don't worry I'm ok. Now tell me what happened."  
Gabriel drank some water out of his water bottle and cleared his throat, " The guys found you in a alleyway near Avalon, and they found you unconscious. They took you to emergency and the doctors were able to save your life. Doc says the bullet was about two or three inches from your heart, any closer and you would have been dead."   
After Gabriel told me how and why I went into the hospital I immediately look into my gown and I found a large see through bandage. It was right between my breasts. I look at Gabriel and he told me I was in the hospital for about two days. I asked for a drink and I asked the question that I wanted to asked, " what happened to the bus driver."  
" Bus driver?"  
" You know, the guy who shot me. What happen to him?"   
Gabriel eyes started to wander from me, I asked again, " Gabriel, what happened to the guy who shot me? Is he in custody?"  
" Yes."  
I smiled and I was about to say something until he continued, " At one time, oh Michelle." He grabbed my hands and cuffed them into his own. He looked straight at me and he sound like he was apologizing to me, " When they caught the guy everything was going just as planed until he got out. I don't know how, but some fucker from the inside let him loose. The cops are looking for him now but they say it's probably too late 'cause he's probably out of the country by now. And they were trying to find the guy who let the bastard go but there so backed up with cases that by the time they get to it I'll be too late."   
As Gabriel was rambling on about that man I started to remember what the bus driver said, and he was right. No matter how many times these people get caught they'll never go to Jail. Tears slowly started to fall down my cheeks and Gabriel started to freak out, " Michelle! Why are you crying? What's wrong, is it me, did I say anything."  
" He's right." I mumbled, " My kind is disappearing."   
" What kind!?"  
" My kind!" I exclaimed, " He must of paid a cop to let him loose, he even told me Gabriel! He bought his freedom and he's out in the street again. I can't believe he's right. My kind is disappearing!" I reached over to Gabriel and I couldn't control my crying I just couldn't believe it still, " Gabriel I even lied to people that we got a psycho behind bars. I have to lie to those poor people and I don't think I can do that again! Just to make them belive in the police again, damn it it's not fair Gabriel! It not fucking fair at all for us!"  
" Michelle calm-"  
" No!" I shouted. I was really losing it, I said, "How can my job be easier if I'm fightin' the bad guys and my own?! I became a cop to protect people, along with them. Trying to get these the same people who killed my brother locked far away, and all these guys have to do is wave twenty five thousand and they can walk out, and that's change to them! But how could I call myself a good cop when that bus driver was trying to bribe me for more then fifty thousand and I even thought about takin' the money. I thought, we could use the money and buy one of those condos that was downtown, you know the one that we applied to but we were turned down because of our income, and we could have a vacation to Italy or anywhere we want, just the two of us. And we can pay off most of our debts and you don't have to work in that mechanic shop no more, and we can have all the time we want together like we use to do Gabriel! Damn it! It's not fair!"  
  
And that's when I just cried. And I collapse onto him crying into his shirt. I tried to stop but I just couldn't. Then I felt his arms wrapped around me it felt so right. He kissed me passionately a couple of times and he smiled, " Michelle, you did your job better then anybody will ever have." And we hold each other just like that and you know what. I actually cant wait to get back to work, sure I have to deal with crooked cops, hit men, mobsters, gang warfare and psychos day in and out, and me and Gabriel have our problems with money and some time to ourselves, and my personal problems, but when Gabriel and me was together like that... I don't know why, but I just feel lucky I could hold him.  
  
Hey. I guess there is such thing as guardian angels...  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Grand Theft Auto I am strictly doing this for my own entertainment.  
Author's Note: And there you have it. This was my first GTA fic, and the first time I ever used a first person perspective and the first time I use major curse words. So how did you like it? I do not care what rating system you use doesn't matter to me. Oh and if you want me to write out the perspective of any of the characters mentioned in this story then feel free to tell me. I'll try to make it as fast as I can but I can't make any promises. Thanks for taking your time reading this! Gee I hope this doesent suck. 


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